Soap holding brush



y 1948- w; NOVICK SOAP HOLDING BRUSH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 22, 1945 Wzmmm Novrck Army/Viz" May 18, 1948.

w. NOVICK SOAP HOLDING BRUSH Filed Dec. 22, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i H is? INVENTOR MLLIAM NOVIGIC .by I

Patented May 18, 1948 UNITED STAT ES: ENT ()FF-ICE' SOAP V HOLDING. BRUSH. William Novick, Brookl n. N. Y; 'Applicatian December 22, 1945', Serial No. 636;856

2 Claims. (01. 15 -222).

This invention. relates to a cleaning device, and

more particularly to newand useful. improvemzents-in asoap and sponge holding brush.

I-he present inventionproposes. new construction of a soap and sponge holding brush. having bristles positioned in close proximity to the, brush opening and soap and sponge gripping means of novel. design.

An object of the invention is to increase the effectiveness of thedevi-ce by providing long, silky bristles close to thesoap and sponge compartment to cooperate in the-lathering operation, and by providing shorter, stiffer bristles near the ends of the brush. to cooperate in the scrubbing operation.

Another object is to provide a basket that can be-inserted easily in the. brush. opening, and coacting means to retain it in functioning position.

A further object is to provide the basket with resilient mesh to cooperate with agripping means to hold the soap. and sponge firmly.

Stillanother object is to provide a new gripping means activated by springs to maintain a firm grip on the. soap and sponge as they change in size. and hardness. while in use.

A. further object is, to provide a gripping means. having a plate with a large gripping surface and openings therethrough.

Another object, is to provide a brush with new construction within its opening to contain the basket, soap, sponge and gripping means.

A further object is to provide a cover for the brush having means on, its undersurface to retain the gripping means in functioning position, the gripping means in turn cooperating to secure the cover firmly to the brush.

Another object in toprovide the cover with openings which together with the openings in the lower plate of the grippingmeans permit water,

' sudsand air to circulate freely through the brush opening thus ensuring efficiency while in use and brush and its parts fresh, clean and 'dry.

Other objects are to provide a brush of the class specified that is sturdy in construction,-easy to-load, unload and clean, eiiicient in operation, and cheap in cost. 7

These and other objects are accomplished by providing a cleaning device comprised of a bristled brush, a cover, a meshed basket,-gripping means and a strap- The brush has an opening therethrough in which a cake of soap, a sponge, the basket and the ripping means. are positioned. Thecover can be slid along the topiof, the brush Securing them together and fixing the gripping means. in position. The grippingmeans has a spring which acts on a plateholding the soa and spongefirm-ly against, the mesh. of: the basket. and

the strap is detachablv secured to the brush...

For. further comprehensionoi the invention,

and of the objects and advantages thereon roterence will: be had to the following description.

and. accompanying drawings, and to. the, ape.-

pended claims in which the variousnpvelfeatures Fig; 2 is another perspective view. of the device showing its top and sides in more detail.

- 3 is abcttomview Qf thecentra portion! of. the device showingan opening the brush, amesh thereacross', and bristles positionedclosely about the: opening. a

Fig. 4, is a perspective,- view of the body part, of thebrush broken away to: reveal the structures Fig, 5 is, a, perspective View oi. the meshed basket used in the device.

6 is. a perspective viewof. the cover portion of. the. device.

'7 is. a perspective view of; the gripping; means used in the device.

Fig: 8. is a section along theli-n 8W8 of. 2, Fig. 9.- is a section along the line 9 -9: oiF gz 2.v Fig. 10v is a cross section, of avariation of the invention, the section being alone a line. corresponding to 8- 8;:v of 2,,

Fig. 11 is a. perspecti-Veview, of; modified, means used in the device shown in Eig.

In the drawings and the; specification, in which like reference numbers designate similar parts, the cleaning device H show-n Figs. 1;

to 9 inclusive, is comprised or"- a brush. L2, a hashot {3-, a detachable cover 5%, gripping means t5 and two straps IS.

The brush l-Z- has a body-- portion lg? having, an opening l8 extending therethrough trom its; top to its bottom. Bristles [9: are secured in orifices in the bottom of the body portion and are: positioned closely about the. opening l8. ThQyvar-y in length and, texture from comparatively long andsi-lk-y bristles an adjacent to the opening to perform the lathering function of the brush, to comparativelyshort andstiff bristles 2 IE near the ends of the brush retrieved from the open t perilorin the scrubbing function of the brush (see,

Eig. 8) The brush-body H. has sloping; shoulders;

smooth, flexible thread, such as nylon or a suit- The frame 23 has flanges 25 ably coated wire. extending along each of its sides which coact with and rest on shoulders 26 in the brush opening IS with the mesh 24 extending along the opening at the bottom of the brush at approximately the The same level as the ends of the bristles. basket [3 can be permanently secured to the brush body in functioning position or can be removable, and is capable of containing a cake of soap 2! and a sponge 28.

The detachable cover l4 (see Fig. 6) has two opposite edges bent over to form sockets 29 capable of admitting and slideably engaging flanges 33 on top of the brush body H. The flanges 36 extend along opposite sides of the opening is forming tracks so that the cover can be slid along the top of the brush with the flanges 3!! in the sockets 29 to close the top of the opening. The cover Hi can also be detachably secured to the brush top by a dovetail or similar interlocking joint which permits movement in only the desired direction. The bottom surface of the cover is provided with two slats 3| positioned centrally between the sockets 29, the slats being spaced apart to form a way 32 between them which is parallel to the sockets and extends along the length of the cover. The function of the way 32 will presently appear in the description of the gripping means l5. Openings 33 extending through the cover i4 permit full drainage of the brush opening [8 and allow the air to circulate freely therethrough to keep the device fresh and dry when not in use.

The gripping means l5 (see Fig. 7) is positioned in the brush opening l3 and acts on the soap and sponge to hold them firmly against the resilient mesh 24. The gripping means I5 consists of an upper plate 34 and a larger lower plate 35 joined by or integral with spring members 36. The upper plate 34 has a guide or slat 31 on its outer face adapted to fit slidably in the way 32 in the cover l4, and the lower plate 35 has a plurality of openings 38 to permit water and air to pass freely through the opening IS. The spring members 35 curve inwardly and act to keep the plates apart and to hold the soap and sponge firmly between the mesh and the lower gripping plate.

The'straps 16 are removably secured to the brush shoulders 22 by coacting interlocking tongue and groove means 39.

The cleaning device I! is assembled as follows: The basket 13 is inserted into the brush opening i8 through the top of the brush andis positioned with its flanges 25 resting on the shoulders 26 in opening, whereupon the mesh 24 will extend across the opening at the bottom of the brush. The soap 21 and sponge 28 'are'then placed in the basket with either the soap or sponge adjacent to the mesh, as desired. The gripping means I5 is then placed in the opening with its perforated lower plate 35 incontact with' the topmost of the soap and sponge. The upper 4 plate 34 is then depressed against the action of the spring members 36 until the slat 31 on the upper plate is almost flush with the top surface of the brush body [1. The cover I4 is then slid along the top of the brush until the opening I8 is covered, the sockets 29 engaging the flanges 30 on the brush, and the way 32 admitting the slat 31 of the upper plate (see Figs. 8 and 9). As the soap is used up, the spring members 3.6 will continue to grip the soap and sponge securely.

In the variation of the invention shown in Figs. and 11, the cleaning device 40 has a modified gripping means 4| comprised of an upper'plate 42 and a lower plate 43 joined by two .-spiral springs 44 positioned in seats 44 in the plates and acting to keep them apart when they are forced toward each other. The upper plate 42 is provided with a slat 45 having dovetailed sides 46. A cover 41 for the brush has two slats 48 on' its undersurface spaced apart and with sides forming a mortise for the dovetailed slat 45 on the upper plate 42. In other respects, the cleaning device 40 is similar tothe device H and can be loaded in the manner hereinabove described.

Although the gripping means described in the devices utilize in one case arcuate spring members between the plates, and in the other case coil springs, any other type of spring can be used in any number positioned between the plates and acting to keep them apart when pressed toward each other and to retain the soap and sponge in an advanced position. I

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodimentsof my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A cleaning device for use with a cake of soap, the device being comprisedof a brush, a meshed basket, a cover, interlocking means, a sponge, and gripping means, the brush having an opening therethrough capable of containing the basket, soap, sponge and gripping means, and being further provided with a shoulder. within the opening, the brush bristles extending closely about the opening at the bottom of the'b'rush and varyingin length and texture from comparativelylong and silky bristles adjacent to the opening to comparatively short and-stiif bristles near the ends of the brush removed from the opening, the cover being detachably secured to the top of the'brushby the coacting tongue and groove interlocking meansand the bottom of the cover having a way 'to retain the gripping means in position, the basket having a flange and being positioned-within the opening with the flange resting on and co-ao'ting with the shoulder within the opening, and with the mesh of the basket extending. across the opening at the, bottom of thebrush, and the gripping means comprising a lower gripping plate, a spring, and anupper plate having a slat adaptedto fit slidably in the way on the bottom of the cover, the gripping means being positioned within the brush opening with its spring between its plates and 'a cting' to force them apart when they are pressed toward each other, said sponge being disposed intermediate saidsoap andsaid lower gripping plate whereby said sponge is retained in position under compression exerted by said gripping means.

2. A cleaning device for use with a cake of soap the cleaning device comprising a. brush, a cover, a meshed basket, gripping means, a sponge, and strap, the brush having an opening therethrough capable of containing the basket, soap, sponge, and gripping means, and being further provided with a shoulder within the opening, the brush bristles extending closely about the opening at the bottom of the brush and varying in length and texture from comparatively long and silky bristles adjacent to the opening to comparatively short and stiff bristles near the ends of the brush removed from the opening, the brush and cover having coacting tongue and groove interlocking means for detachably securing them together, whereby the cover can be slid across the top of the brush closing the opening, the basket having a flange and being positioned within the opening with the flange resting on the shoulder within the opening, and with its mesh REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,117,634 Bowes Nov. 17, 1914 1,699,261 Wissmar Jan. 15, 1929 2 1,933,291 Wolff Oct. 31, 1933 2,333,436 Novick Nov. 2, 1943 

